Not real news: A look at what didn't happen this week

FILE - In this July 21, 2010 file photo, President Barack Obama, left, stands with Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., second left, Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., second right, and Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., after he signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection financial reform bill at the Ronald Reagan at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington. Congress has voted to roll back some key elements of the Dodd-Frank law, which was enacted to provide the kind of regulatory framework that might keep another Great Recession from happening. Supporters of a vote, Tuesday, May 22, 2018 say it will spur the economy by increasing lending, easing the regulatory burden on small and medium-sized banks. Critics argue that it increases the chances of future taxpayer bailouts like the ones that followed the financial crisis. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, file)

A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue headlines of the week. None of these stories is legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked these out. Here are the real facts:

NOT REAL: American Restaurant Granted Permission to Sell Dog Meat!

THE FACTS: A long-circulated false article about a California restaurant putting canine flesh on its menu offers this new twist: the sales are going forward as a court considers whether selling dishes of dog is protected in the U.S. as part of freedom of religion. But the Los Angeles County public health department says thereís no such restaurant there called Puchow de Manila Eatery and Fine Dining, and they noted itís illegal in the state to sell dog meat for human consumption. The most recent version of the story, which has circulated since at least 2014, alleges an unnamed ďFilipino groupĒ asked an unspecified Supreme Court to lift the ban because it violated membersí religious rights. The article on the grandemeli site said that in the meantime, the restaurant had ďprovisional permissionĒ to serve the meat. The site couldnít be reached for comment, as it published no contact information and registered the page through a third-party service.

NOT REAL: The U.S. District Attorney Has Announced That He Will Be Pursuing Charges of Treason Against the Former President Barack Obama

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THE FACTS: A website is recirculating an inaccurate story claiming an FBI official announced heís investigating former President Barack Obama for treason. The latest version of the story appeared on a site called webviners. It alleged FBI general counsel Dana Boente will pursue such charges, but Boente never made such an announcement. Also, the piece incorrectly identified him as ďthe U.S. District Attorney.Ē The article also erred in claiming Obama demoted Boente at some unspecified time during his administration, removing him from a Justice Department position that was second in line behind the attorney general, and that President Donald Trump reversed that action. Obama nominated Boente in 2015 to lead federal prosecutions in Virginiaís eastern district, and Boente remained in that job through the rest of Obamaís term. After Trump took office in January 2017, the new president brought Boente to the Justice Department in Washington, where he has served in several senior roles. He officially left the prosecutorís job in Virginia in October. The webviners site administrators could not be reached for comment. (Continued below.)

NOT REAL: Million Pounds Of Rat Meat Being Sold As Chicken Wings In U.S.

THE FACTS: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration hasnít issued a warning to consumers about 1 million pounds of rat meat being sold as boneless chicken wings and officials didnít seize any such meat from China at the Port of San Francisco. Such claims have circulated on social media for more than a year. The latest version appeared on the Gun Society site. In an email this week, FDA spokesman Peter Cassell said the story isnít true. While the tale has been published in the past as satire, the Gun Society site didnít present it that way and did not offer contact information for a response.

This is part of The Associated Pressí ongoing effort to fact-check misinformation that is shared widely online, including work with Facebook to identify and reduce the circulation of false stories on the platform.